Severe Weather Episode on the South PlainsMay 12-13, 2005

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms occurred across portions of the Texas Panhandle and the South Plains of West Texas from the early afternoon of Thursday, May 12, 2005 into the early morning hours of Friday, May 13.

The weather pattern on this day was highly conducive for severe thunderstorms, specifically, very large hail and tornado development. A southward moving cold front early in the day became nearly stationary by afternoon as a strong flow of moisture overspread the area from the southeast.

Numerous waves of severe thunderstorms developed throughout the afternoon Thursday and continued well into the after midnight hours on Friday. During this long duration event, and between the hours of 4:30 pm and 10:00 pm, several tornadoes occurred across the area. Additionally, very large hail reports were received throughout the event, including a number of tennis to baseball-size hail reports, and even a couple of softball-size hail reports. See the local storm report for a more complete list of the hail events.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Lubbock dispatched a damage survey team to assess reports of tornadoes and associated damage. As a more detailed review of radar data and storm video occurs in the coming days, slight modifications to the assessment can be expected. However, the following is composed from an accurate account of the survey team findings. The survey team was conducted on Friday, May 13, 2005, by the following NWS Lubbock personnel: Meteorologist-in-Charge Justin Weaver, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Brian LaMarre, and Senior Service Hydrologist John Lipe.

Pictures of damage from the first of two tornadoes to impact Ralls, TX. Click on the images for a larger view. (Photographs taken by Brian LaMarre, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, WFO Lubbock, TX)

The above images depict damage from the first of two tornadoes to impact Ralls, TX on the night of May 12, 2005. The tornado tracked from 9 miles to the southwest of Ralls for six miles and impacted the area seen in the photographs. A 2,500 square foot residence was destroyed resulting in widespread F-2 and isolated lower F-3 damage (Click here to learn about the Fujita tornado intensity scale or F-scale for short). The tornado lifted the home off its foundation and scattered debris a few yards to the north and northeast. Some debris from the home was blown over a mile to the north and northeast. Two pick-up trucks were tossed into the air and demolished when deposited upside down. One vehicle was tossed for several yards before making contact with the surface. Trees were mud-splattered and stripped of leaves and bark with large branches completely torn off from trunks. Fortunately, no one was home at the time the tornado struck this area - between 8:40 PM and 8:55 PM.

Pictures of damage from the second of two tornadoes to impact Ralls, TX. Click on the image for a larger view. (Photographs taken by Brian LaMarre, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, WFO Lubbock, TX)

These images depict damage from the second of two tornadoes to impact Ralls, TX on the night of May 12, 2005. The tornado developed approximately 1.5 miles to the west of Ralls and tracked to the north and northwest before dissipating three miles north of Ralls. The occurrence of this second tornado in relation to the weakening of the first and stronger tornado is not uncommon with long-lived tornadic supercells. This pattern is typical of a cyclic tornado when one tornado weakens and lifts while another tornado forms to the right of the original tornado path. This tornado produced extensive F-1 and isolated F-2 damage. A residence was damaged and a barn completely destroyed with a vehicle blown over and deposited on its side. The damage seen in the photos is south of U.S. Highway 62/82. As the tornado tracked to the northeast over this area, 2000 lb bales of hay were tossed from a field on one side of the highway into a field across the highway to the south where the structures, power poles and vehicle were damaged.

For a more complete account of the tornado activity on May 12th, read the public information statement below.

AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE
TEXAS PANHANDLE AND THE SOUTH PLAINS OF WEST TEXAS ON THURSDAY
MAY 12 2005.

THE WEATHER PATTERN ON THIS DAY WAS HIGHLY CONDUCIVE FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO DEVELOPMENT. A SOUTHWARD MOVING COLD FRONT
EARLY IN THE DAY BECAME NEARLY STATIONARY BY AFTERNOON AS A STRONG
FLOW OF MOISTURE OVERSPREAD THE AREA FROM THE SOUTHEAST.

NUMEROUS WAVES OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED THROUGHOUT THE
AFTERNOON THURSDAY AND CONTINUED WELL INTO THE AFTER MIDNIGHT
HOURS ON FRIDAY. DURING THIS LONG DURATION EVENT...AND
BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 430 PM AND 1000 PM...SEVERAL TORNADOES OCCURRED
ACROSS THE AREA.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LUBBOCK DISPATCHED A DAMAGE SURVEY
TEAM TO ASSESS REPORTS OF TORNADOES AND ASSOCIATED DAMAGE. AS A MORE
DETAILED REVIEW OF RADAR DATA AND STORM VIDEO OCCURS IN THE COMING
DAYS...SLIGHT MODIFICATIONS TO THE ASSESSMENT CAN BE EXPECTED.
HOWEVER...THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF THE SURVEY TEAM
FINDINGS.

4. 613 PM TO 625 PM...FLOYD COUNTY...SOUTH PLAINS.
SEVERAL POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED IN HALF OR BLOWN OVER. THE
TELEPHONE POLES SURVEYED WERE BLOWN OVER IN A VARIETY OF
PATTERNS...SOUTH TO NORTH DIRECTION...SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST
DIRECTION...AND A WEST TO EAST DIRECTION. IN ADDITION...SEVERAL
CENTER PIVOTS WERE EITHER BLOWN OVER OR TWISTED...AND TWO VEHICLES
WERE FLIPPED OVER IN A FIELD FROM A SOUTH TO NORTH DIRECTION. THE
TORNADO PRODUCED THE MOST DAMAGE SHORTLY BEFORE AND AFTER CROSSING
STATE HIGHWAY 207.
F-SCALE INTENSITY...F2.

THIS TORNADO WAS THE PARENT OR MAIN TORNADO INVOLVED IN WHAT IS KNOWN
AS A MULTI-VORTEX TORNADO. AT TIMES THIS TORNADO WAS GREATER THAN
ONE-HALF MILE IN WIDTH. LARGE TORNADOES SOMETIMES UNDERGO A PROCESS
WHERE THE FLOW INSIDE THE TORNADO BECOMES DISRUPTED...BUT DOES NOT
DISSIPATE. THE RESULT IS A TURBULENT CIRCULATION...OR VORTEX...
WHERE SMALLER AND TYPICALLY WEAKER TORNADOES DEVELOP AND ROTATE
AROUND THE PARENT OR MUCH BROADER CIRCULATION. THE FOLLOWING SOUTH
PLAINS TORNADO WAS ONE OF THESE SMALLER AND WEAKER TORNADOES
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MULTI-VORTEX TORNADO.

5. 624 PM TO 640 PM...FLOYD COUNTY...SOUTH PLAINS.
A MULTI-VORTEX TORNADO ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREVIOUS CIRCULATION.
THIS TORNADO WAS MUCH WEAKER IN COMPARISON TO THE PRIMARY AND
STRONGER TORNADIC CIRCULATION MENTIONED EARLIER. THIS TORNADO WAS
REPORTED APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF MILE SOUTH OF FM 689 AND 7 MILES EAST
OF STATE HIGHWAY 207.
F-SCALE INTENSITY...F0.

6. 840 PM TO 855 PM...CROSBY COUNTY...RALLS.
A STRONG TORNADO DEVELOPED APPROXIMATELY 9 MILES TO THE SOUTHWEST OF
RALLS AROUND 840 PM AND TRACKED TO THE NORTHEAST FOR SIX MILES.
ALONG THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...SEVERAL POWER POLES WERE BLOWN OVER
OR SNAPPED AND A FEW CENTER PIVOTS WERE OVERTURNED OR TWISTED. A
RESIDENCE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED WITH DEBRIS ENTIRELY REMOVED FROM
THE FOUNDATION. THE MAJORITY OF THE DEBRIS FROM THIS STRUCTURE WAS
BLOWN TO THE NORTHEAST APPROXIMATELY 10 TO 30 FEET FROM THE
FOUNDATION...WITH OTHER RELATED DEBRIS DISPERSED OVER A MILE AWAY.
TWO PICKUP TRUCKS WERE LIFTED AND DEPOSITED UPSIDE DOWN 5 TO 30 FEET
FROM FORMER LOCATIONS. TREES WERE MUD-SPLATTERED AND STRIPPED OF
BARK WITH LARGE BRANCHES COMPLETELY TORN OFF TRUNKS. CENTER PIVOT
IRRIGATION SYSTEMS WERE EITHER BLOWN OVER OR TWISTED IN SURROUNDING
FIELDS...HOWEVER SOME WERE LEFT UNSCATHED TO THE NORTHEAST OF THIS
TORNADO. ADDITIONAL DEBRIS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TORNADO WAS
ALSO DEPOSITED IN A FIELD ACROSS FROM U.S. HIGHWAY 62/82 BEFORE
DISSIPATING.
F-SCALE INTENSITY...F3.

7. 855 PM TO 910 PM...CROSBY COUNTY...RALLS.
IN ASSESSING THE DAMAGE FROM THE F3 TORNADO...THE DEBRIS FIELD
DIMINISHED IN AREAL COVERAGE AS THE TORNADO TRACKED FARTHER TO
THE NORTHEAST ALONG THE END OF ITS PATH. DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS OF THE STORM SUGGESTED THE TORNADO WEAKENED AND
LIFTED. MEANWHILE...A SECOND TORNADO DEVELOPED. THIS OCCURRENCE
COINCIDED WITH A BREAK IN THE DEBRIS FIELD OBSERVED DURING THE
SURVEY. THIS CYCLE OF ONE TORNADO WEAKENING AND LIFTING WHILE
ANOTHER TORNADO FORMS TO THE RIGHT OF THE FORMER PATH IS TYPICAL IN
WELL-ORGANIZED TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS. THIS SECOND TORNADO DEVELOPED
APPROXIMATELY 1.5 MILES WEST OF RALLS AND TRACKED TO THE NORTH AND
NORTHWEST BEFORE DISSIPATING THREE MILES NORTH OF RALLS. THE TORNADO
DAMAGED A RESIDENCE AND A NEARBY BARN. TWO THOUSAND POUND BALES OF
HAY WERE TOSSED FROM ONE SIDE OF U.S. HIGHWAY 62/82 TO THE OTHER AS
THE TORNADO SCATTERED DEBRIS TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST ACROSS AN
ADJACENT FIELD. IN ADDITION...A VEHICLE WAS OVERTURNED ON THE
PROPERTY WITHIN DEBRIS FROM THE RESIDENCE...POWER POLES WERE EITHER
BLOWN DOWN OR SNAPPED AND CENTER PIVOTS OVERTURNED.
F-SCALE INTENSITY...F2.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR LOCAL
MEDIA PARTNERS...EMERGENCY MANAGERS...LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRE
OFFICIALS...NWS SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS...STORM CHASERS...AND
THE GENERAL PUBLIC FOR HELPING US PROVIDE YOU WITH THE MOST
ACCURATE INFORMATION POSSIBLE IN SEVERE WEATHER SITUATIONS.

Note: The below information contains preliminary reports as they were received throughout the severe weather event. Some reports may show multiple reports of tornadoes. This can occur as various sources witness the same tornado from different locations at different times. The official account of tornado occurrences across the area during the event can be seen in the above Public Information Statement. However, all reports are important to the National Weather Service and a sample of them can be seen below.